You’ll have a crush on these brownies once you try them, too. Back when Neil and I lived in North Carolina, one of our favorite spots was a French bakery named Amelie’s. They have a salted caramel brownie there that is to-die-for, and I tried to recreate it here. This brownie recipe has low flour content, and tastes similar to a flourless chocolate torte.

Lucky little sister that I am, my big sister brought me high quality cocoa powder and fleur de sel from Paris to use in my most special baked goods. I used some of the cooca powder making a chocolate cheesecake for Neil’s birthday, and I was super excited to use the fleur de sel in this Valentine’s recipe. This flaky, light, potent salt is the perfect finishing salt and adds a perfect salty balance to the sweetness of the caramel. You can find fleur de sel at most speciality food stores, and certainly online.

As hokey as it might be, I like Valentine’s Day. It’s nice to set aside a day just to honor your sweetie, the love you share, and remember what brought you two together in the first place. Yes, I believe you should do this more often than every February 14, but still, it’s nice that there is a holiday just for that. Make these for your boo this Friday and you’ll fall in love all over again.

OH! And we have a TARGET GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY going on right now. Head on over and enter by the end of the day on Valentine’s Day to win!

Preheat oven to 350°. Place parchment paper in a 13×9″ glass baking pan and set aside.

In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, melt the two sticks of butter. Once butter is completely melted, remove from heat and add the chocolate chips and baking chocolate. Stir until all chocolate is melted. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add a little bit of the cooled chocolate to the egg mixture, and stir. Continue adding the entire chocolate mixture, whisking gently as you pour. Set aside.

Using a separate small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add this mix to the other chocolatey bowl, and stir with a wooden spoon. Once mixture is thoroughly combined, pour into the baking pan, and evenly spread with the spoon.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean. Cool completely. They will look wrinkly, and that’s okay.

In a separate tall saucepan, combine sugar and water. Place over medium-high heat. Boil sugar, occasionally swirling the pot and scraping down sides with a wet pastry brush. Do not stir though, as sugar boils and reaches a dark amber color, about 12 minutes.

Don’t walk away from this. The next part needs to happen quickly. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in cream, butter, and salt until smooth. Pour over cooled brownies and sprinkle with additional fleur de sel. Allow brownies to set for an hour, or as long as you can wait.

Once cool, transfer brownies to a cutting board and peel back the parchment. Cut into shapes and serve.

Hey Lauren! Amelie’s is awesome. It was one of our favorite spots in North Carolina. They had so many good pastries and I love the shabby chic decor. Have you been to NoDa brewery, right across the street? What a great neighborhood!

Hi Jan! Cindy is right- it’s a sea salt that is hand harvested from France, and high quality. You can find it at speciality grocery stores (Whole Foods might carry it), or order online. Great question!

I tried the receipt last night==no so good. The brownies were wonderful, but the caramel wouldn’t set up. I did it twice. The first time it seized up and became a lump of sugar. The second time I boiled it for 25 minutes–it wouldn’t turn a dark amber color. Help, what am I doing wrong?? Thanks. Martha

Hi Martha! So sorry you’re having trouble with the caramel. Caramel is tricky and a part of cooking I really had to practice. It took me a while before getting it down! It’s odd that your sugar isn’t turning a color. Were you stirring too often? Stirring only occasionally (some say don’t stir at all) helps the sugar bind to itself and cook. The only time to whisk vigorously is when the butter and cream is added. Hope the third time is a charm!

Martha M.
4 years ago

I did not stir while it was boiling, only swirled it around. I will try it once more. Thanks for the advice.

The Newlywed Chefs
4 years ago

Try following the link to the original recipe from Amelie’s, but skip the gelatin part. Perhaps it will be easier to follow. Good luck!

The sugar and water should be a liquid until the butter and cream is whisked in. Once removed from the heat, it will begin to harden and set. We removed the gelatin from the original recipe because we didn’t like the gummy texture. Our caramel is easy to pour onto the brownies, but hardened once completely cooled, which made them easy to cut. Sorry it didn’t work for you. Caramel took me a long time to master. There is a very short window of time between when the sugar is not ready, perfect, and burned. If you’re looking for more of a caramel candy type texture, try adding light corn syrup to the sugar.

Hi J.A. I highly recommend using a steel whisk when making caramel. If you use a wooden spoon, the caramel may stick to it too much and ingredients (such as the butter and cream) may not be as well incorporated. Have fun and be careful making caramel!

Sorry to hear that, Richard. What did it turn out like? Caramel can be tricky to master!

KP_JP
3 years ago

I Made these (they are AMAZING!) and the first time I did it, I too had trouble with the caramel setting and so I just added a layer of high quality dark chocolate on the top which really helped to hold it all together…turned out to be a delicious and rather naughty take on the millionaires!

I love salted caramel anything, so had to make these. First batch came out undercooked and I think I burned the caramel. Second attempt was bigger success, though I used 3/4C flour instead of your 1/2C and baked about 35 min or possibly more. Added vanilla to caramel, too. They were delicious!

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Bringing people together around the table is the way we show love to others. Although we're not "newlyweds" anymore, we're keeping a fresh outlook on life, love and cooking, and hope to share it with all of you!